A Destiny Rewritten
by morbid-koneko
Summary: What if the white rabbit found Alice the first time he set out, not searching for weeks to find her? What will change and what will remain the same? AxM
1. prologue

A Destiny Rewritten

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Everything belongs to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, Linda Woolverton, Disney, and other parties. I only own a Mad Hatter poster. This is for fun.

A/N: This is my first fanfic. Not sure how it's going to turn out, but be patient and give feedback and we will work it out!

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_**Prologue **_

Gloomy, dark clouds passed overhead as two creatures stood in the middle of a mushroom forest. So overcast it was, that it could pass for past Brillig, but it did not bother the two figures, for they were used to such days. It had been so long since they had seen their friend, the Sun that they had almost forgot what he even looked like.

Nivens McTwisp stood shaking from nerves in front of one certain mushroom, a blue one to be precise. Upon that mushroom sat Absolem, an equally blue caterpillar, smoking his usual hookah. "It is time." Absolem spoke in a grave voice, breathing out a puff of smoke with it.

"How will I find her?" Nivens replied nervously.

"You will have to go above, and search as fast as you can."

"Yes, but where? I could never find her! Otherland is so much bigger then our Underland!" Nivens said frantically.

"Then you better get started, and as a piece of advice, I would start where you found her the first time." Absolem said while blowing a breath of smoke out. "Who knows how long it will take you, so you better be off." With that Absolem disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"Why am I always the one to do this?" Nivens lamented as he headed for Marmoreal to tell the White Queen the news. The Oraculum had finally prophesized the Frabjous day. It was time for Alice to come back to Underland.


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Same as first don't own it, only a poster.

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_**Chapter One**_

The sun shone brightly through the window of a delicate blue room. The soft eggshell blue seemed to glow in the light; unfortunately the one person who would notice seemed to not be awake. The girl of nineteen was lying on the bed with her riotous blonde curls covering her face. Her face, which seemed to be of porcelain, was scrunched up as if dreaming of something that did not agree with her. All of a sudden she jerked up in a shock, her hazel eyes flying open as she gasped for air. Slowly she came to her senses. " It was all just a dream," she whispered softly to herself.

"Alice? Alice are you ready yet?"

Whipping her head in the direction of the door Alice replied, " Not yet mother, I've just woken up."

"Alice we're going to be late! You must hurry, we don't want to keep Lord and Lady Ascot waiting!" her mother, Helen Kingsley, said as she opened her daughter's door.

"I'm terribly sorry Mother, I will only be a minute."

"Here let me help you, it will go by faster, and I will be sure that you are dressed properly"

"Must I wear a corset and stockings they are absolutely horrid."

"Without them you wouldn't be properly dressed."

"Whose say is to say what is proper? Would you wear just an underdress if it was proper?"

"It is not proper so let's not worry about it, but for this I must insist that you wear _all _of the proper clothing, and we will not leave until you do!"

~One Hour later~

Riding in the carriage both Kingsley women were glaring at the other. Alice was glaring at her mother for the obvious reasons. She had lost the battle, but decided she would win the war, the war against corsets and stockings. Her beautiful blue dress would have looked fine without either, in her opinion. Her mother was glaring for the reason that they were later then even she expected for them to be.

After raising Alice she had learned to tell her daughter what time they were leaving thirty minutes earlier then what they had to. By that time they arrived on the right time to wherever they had to go. Only on rare occasions, mostly due to fighting over clothes, do they arrive late. No, today was not a good day to be late in Helen's opinion. Today was the day Lady Ascot and her were supposed to finish up plans on Alice and Hamish's, Lord and Lady Ascot's son, engagement party set for close to a month away.

Luckily the ride was almost over. Ascot Manor was in view to both mother's and daughter's relief. Stopping in front of the manor they were greeted by Alistair, the Ascot's butler, whom informed them that the Ascot's were waiting for them in the garden for tea. Turning a corner of the hall, Alice could hear Lady Ascot talking.

"Really Harold, If this happens at their engagement party too, it will be the end of the world. By this rate we will never get the details done, then our poor Hamish will never get to ask her for her hand!"

Alice paled immediately hearing those words come from Lady Ascot's lips. She hoped she had hear wrong, and none of it was true. Coming to the doors to the patio, Alistair stepped to the side and let them through.

"Finally you have arrived! I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up," Lady Ascot said in a snide tone as she saw the Kingsley's approach.

"We're terribly sorry. We were running behind a little." Replied Helen.

"Of course, we'll have to remedy that before next month, though."

Hearing this, Alice paled even more, and started to worry that what she heard a minute ago was really happening.

"We will don't worry." Helen said as she pulled the still shocked Alice to a chair to sit down. Tea was then served to all. While sipping on their tea, Lady Ascot and Mrs. Kingsley started on the topic of the party next month. Since her husband Mr. Charles Kingsley, had passed this was the only thing to keep one Helen Kingsley out of her grief. The thought of Alice being taken care of and married put her mind at ease. Both ladies were so engrossed in the topic at hand that neither had noticed they were mostly through their first cup and Lord Ascot had left them.

By this time, Alice was staring out into the garden planning and plotting her own escape, both from the table and the upcoming engagement party. She never could stand the Lady Ascot and the way she would talk down to everyone she knows, including her own family. The frivolous conversations all the people around her bored her to tears, and Hamish was the worst. He was exactly like his dear mother. That was enough to put Alice off there. While he was a lord, no title was worth putting up with him. Not even if you called her Your Majesty.

She was still staring out into the gardens when she notice a bush moving not to far from her left. At first she just ignored it thinking it was an animal, but after another few minutes she noticed white and blue flashes in the same bush. Her curiosity got the best of her.

"Mother, I'm going on a stroll through the gardens."

"Alright dearest, please make sure not to get lost though."

"I won't Mother." With that Alice was off. As she walked she kept an eye out for movement in the bushes. After walking a ways away from the table, she finally saw movement. Speeding up, she saw a white rabbit jump out. Not just any white rabbit though, this one was wearing a navy waistcoat. When he took notice of Alice standing there, he reached into his pocket and out came a gold pocket watch. Tapping the front face of the clock, put it back, and took off in the direction of the woods.

Now many people would have thought themselves mad from seeing this sight before them, but Alice. Her curiosity burning, she took off after the rabbit. Racing through the forest, she came upon an old, gnarled tree that looked vaguely familiar. In between a pair of roots was a rabbit hole. She walked over, and sat next to it. Leaning over the mouth of the hole, she braced herself on the edges, and looked in to try to see the rabbit. The hole was too deep to see far into. As Alice leaned further to try to see deeper she didn't notice the ground crumpling around her hands. The edges gave way, and she plummeted into the rabbit hole head first, screaming along the way.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own it at all. Borrowing it for a bit, but will return it in the best shape possible.

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_**Chapter Two**_

Everything was rushing around her as she tumbled head over heels in the air. Alice had no clue which way was up or down anymore. When she finally got accustomed to spinning out of control, she started to look at the tings passing her by. She saw rows upon rows of books, jams, clocks, and other various knick-knacks. Floating in the air was bookshelves and chairs. Hitting one while spinning, she cause a chain reaction that sent a piano after her. Yelling in fright, she threw her arms up in front of her bracing for the impact. When nothing happened, she peeked around her arm to see it stopped in midair. Before she had time to contemplate this she landed on a bed sending her bouncing back on her way. Picking up speed, thanks to the bounce, she had no time to prepare for the impact of going through the roof of a room and landing with a hard thud. Catching her breath, which had fled on the hard impact, she slowly set up to get her bearings.

Looking around she noticed she was in a room full of doors with a checkered floor. Rising to her feet with a look of trepidation on her face, she began to examine the room closely. It was a round room with doors all along the wall except for one with just a curtain covering it. Beginning to feel anxiety creeping up on her, she walked to the nearest door. Trying the handle, she found it locked. Moving to the next and the next, she found more of the same. Feeling desperation set in she headed to the next. Frantically she turned the knob only to find the same as before. Turning to head to the next door she noticed something out of the corner of her eye. In the middle of the room was a glass table with a key. Taking the key she tried each door to no avail. When she made it to the curtain she pushed it aside only to find a door that was only four feet tall. Trying the door anyway, she found to her dismay that the key worked on this particular door.

"It's hopeless. I'm far too big for this door. I'll never get out." She says as she slumps in defeat. Looking over to the table she sees a bottle that wasn't there before. Walking over she picks the bottle up and looks at the tag that says _Drink Me._ Looking from it to the door and back, she thinks to herself '_Why does this all seem so familiar to me?'_ Speaking out loud she says to herself, "maybe this liquid will help me get through the door? Oh well, only one way to find out. Besides I'm most likely dreaming this anyway." With that she raised the bottle to her lips and drank a mouthful.

Setting the bottle down, she started to feel something. She felt a tingle go through her whole body, almost as if it was all waking back up from being asleep. Looking down at her hands she noticed something more peculiar; the ground was rushing up to meet her. '_Am I shrinking?'_ she wondered. When the tingles stopped she looked up to see her dress falling down on her. With no clothes she tore off some of her underdress and tied it around her. Walking to the small door she tried to open it. Jiggling the knob, she realized it had locked back when it shut.

"Oh no!" she screamed out loud when she got to the door. She had forgot to grab the key as she was shrinking. "Now what am I going to do? I doubt I can climb the table to get the key." As she was saying this something happened to appear right in front of her. A little box the size of a jewelry box, to a regular sized person, was near her. Inside of the box was a cake, chocolate to be precise, with white icing on it. Written on top of the cake in pink icing were the words '_Eat Me_.' _Well, what's the worse that could happen?_ She thought as she picked up the cake. Taking a bite, she felt a warm sensation pass through her body, and noticed she was growing at an alarming rate. The piece of underdress started stretching and tearing till it only covered the important parts, she didn't stop until her head bumped the ceiling.

"This isn't what I wanted to happen!", Alice whimpered pitifully as she tried to move. "If the drink made me shrink, maybe I can use that to shrink myself back down again with the key. I only hope I left some in," she said as she picked up both the key and the bottle. " Well, here goes nothing."

With those words she drank what was left in the bottle, and set it back on the table. Feeling the now familiar tingle, she shrank back down to three feet with the key. Grabbing another piece of dress, she dragged the key with her and unlocked the door. On the other side was the most wondrous place she had ever seen in her life.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing, and I make no profit from this.

**A/N:** So here is chapter three. I try to write when I can so I don't know how long the chapters will be, or when they will be released. I will try to update timely though. Longest chapter so far! Hope you all enjoy! Feel free to leave a review, I'd much appreciate hearing some thoughts, and see what everyone thinks! ^.^

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_**Chapter Three**_

All around Alice were plants; beautiful, vibrant, magnificent plants. Some were large exotic plants and flowers she couldn't begin to describe. Others were plants she recognized from her England, like roses and daisies. In the far off distance she could make out what seemed to be a plethora of mushrooms of all different sizes. Cautiously she descended the stairs, and headed for the forest of mushrooms. Looking around in awe she could not believe the world she had stumbled onto.

Flying around were little dragons with wings. They were spitting fire at another creature. It appeared to be a rocking horse with wings. Another rocking-horse fly landed on a leaf of a rose.

Looking closer at the bloom of the rose, Alice could see what looked like a face in the middle of the bloom. "Curiouser and curiouser," she said as she noticed all the flowers were this way.

"Well you haven't changed a bit. Didn't your Mother teach you it's impolite to stare?"

"Who said that?"

"I did, of course." said the rose she was just gazing at a moment ago.

"You can talk?"

"But of course, why couldn't I?"

"Flowers aren't supposed to be able to talk."

"Now _that_ is preposterous!" exclaimed an Iris not to far away.

"I must be dreaming. I have to be." Alice said in a confused voice.

"Oh dear, this is not good, not at all!" a voice from up the path said. Spinning around Alice looked up the path to see the same white rabbit she chased standing there on the verge of hyperventilating. "Did you say something Mr. Rabbit? I could have sworn I heard you say something. This is a very odd dream!"

"This is horrible! Do you remember anything, Alice? Anything about this place?"

"I don't know why I should. It's not like this place exists. I'm dreaming right now."

"Oh dear, oh dear, we better go consult Absolem. I was positive I had the right Alice. I should have known I wouldn't be lucky enough to find the right Alice on the first try. Good thing only the Queen, Absolem, and I know that I was heading out. Oh no, this is going to be horrible. The Queen will blame me! This isn't good at all!" Nivens Fretted, while panting fiercely. Large specks floated in his eyes as he fought to stay conscious.

"Rabbit! Calm down or you will pass out, and I'll be stuck here with no clue which way to go!"

"Allow me to be of assistance then, since your dear escort, Nivens, has decided to leave us for the moment." A warm, silky voice said out of thin air as Nivens finally succumbed to lack of oxygen, and fell to the ground.

"Who are you?" Alice asked to the air.

"Why dear girl, I am Chessur," the voice said as the image of a smiling cat appeared before her out of smoke and thin air.

"Have I gone mad? There is no way my mind could come up with something like this!"

"That will work out perfectly! You see we're all mad here; so you'll right fit in!"

"I know this is a dream. I'll pinch myself and wake up." Alice reached over to her right shoulder and pinched herself. Looking around she still saw an amused Cheshire cat. _Maybe I need something stronger than a pinch? _With that thought she started looking around for something sharp. Noticing a thorn lying on the forest floor, she grabed it and poked herself on the top of her foot. She pressed down and gasped out loud at the pain. She could not believe her eyes, she was still in front of Chessur, '_Maybe it's not a dream?'_

"Ah, so you _are_ starting to catch on. "

"What are you talking about?" Did she just say what she thought out loud? Alice wasn't so sure about anything anymore.

" You just said 'maybe it's not a dream.' On any case let's be off." With that Chessur disappeared. Alice looked around trying to find the direction the cat went, but could not find any inkling. She turned back the way she came, when she heard Chessur's voice from behind her. A little way up the path stood the cat, with his whole body visible. With a widening smile Chess called out "Are you coming or not?" With that Alice took of after the Cheshire cat. Never once did Chess or Alice spare a thought for the poor rabbit still lying unconscious in the middle of the path.

"Now, how about knowing what you call yourself? You seem to already have the privaledge of knowing my name; it only seems fair that I know yours."

"My name is Alice."

"_The_ Alice?"

" I wouldn't know. I don't even know if this is a dream or not. Why should I know if I'm _The _Alice and not just_ A_ Alice?"

"Pity I never get into Politics, or I would tell you." Chessur said with a grin curling his lips even higher.

"Will anyone tell me why I'm dreaming this strange dream?" Alice groaned in defeat.

"We're almost to Absolem. You should get your answers there, but I'm not taking you any further."

Appearing through the end of the forest was the mushrooms she had seen from the door. Walking a little ways in she turned to Chessur. "How do I find Absolem?"

"Follow the smoke to a blue mushroom. He'll be there. Now I'm off, I held up my end." Chessur said, disappearing in a puff of blue and grey smoke, keeping to his word.

Walking into the forest of mushrooms, Alice was amazed by the difference between them all. No two were exactly alike. There were mushrooms the size of a tree to ones as tall as an inch. The colors were so varied, and some were more than one that was the color of a rainbow. While looking at one of the rainbow mushrooms, she notice a thin wisp of smoke. Remembering what Chessur said, she started following it. The smoke led her deeper into the forest to a bright blue mushroom, and on top of said mushroom sat an equally blue caterpillar with a monocle, and smoking a hookah pipe. All around him was a cloud of grey smoke. "Who are you?" A voice spoke from beneath the cloud.

"A-Absolem?" Alice asked hesitantly.

"Who _**are**_ you?" he replied.

"My name is Alice. Though, I don't think I'm the one I've heard about."

"How do you know eggsactually what Alice we are talking about?"

"Well the rabbit already knew my name, so he must have been hunting for an Alice. And Chessur said something about _The_ Alice."

She could have sworn she heard Absolem mumble 'idiots' under his breath, before she went on to say, "I don't know what Alice you're looking for, but I'm not her."

"Stupid girl, you never seem to know who you are when you come here." Absolem said huffily as the smoke cleared around him. Alice, seeing him for the first time, looked at him in shock; she had seen this caterpillar before long ago in a dream.

"You look familiar have I met you before? And what do you mean when you said I never seem to know who I am when I come here?" Before Absolem could form an answer a great roar was heard in the distance, and was coming closer.


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** As stated in previous chapter I do not own this. I am only borrowing and will return when finished.

**A/N:** Okay here's chapter 4. Hope you all enjoy! Not sure if I like how I ended it, let me know what ya think . I also went and changed some things in Chapter 1, not a lot just bits and pieces that didn't sit right with me. Enjoy!

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_**Chapter Four**_

Hearing the roar, Absolem looked down to Alice. There, Alice stood with a look of confusion, and slight fear. Something very big was coming their way, and Alice had the impression it wasn't a nice something. Her feeling of self-preservation was telling her to run, and not to look back. "Girl, you need to listen to me. Run as fast as you can, and head to the castle of the White Queen in Marmoreal, which lies in the East. Hurry, before the Bandersnatch arrives!" Absolem said in a hurried voice, pointing toward his right.

"Banner-what?"

"Bandersnatch. Lately the Knave of hearts has been scouring the lands for more workers, but that is something you shouldn't be worrying about now. You should be running like, I said."

"What about you, Absolem?"

"Don't worry about me, stupid girl, just run!" With that Absolem breathed out a cloud of smoke and disappeared. Alice, hesitating only a moment, took off the way Absolem had pointed. Running through the mushrooms she started to feel the ground shake beneath her. A rumbling sounding like a herd of horses mixed with the sound of clinking armor behind her. The Bandersnatch, it seems, was not alone. Turning her head, she saw a great white beast with brown spots. Its head was massive, and the rows of jagged, sharp teeth in its mouth reminded her of a shark. Closing in along with the Bandersnatch was what looked like red playing cards. Looking back forward, she took to running as fast as she could.

Seeming to spot her, with a roar the Bandersnatch leapt forward at Alice swiping with his claws. Looking back over her shoulder at the roar, Alice could only look on as she saw the giant claws heading towards her. Inches before the claws hit home, something grabbed her by her left arm. Before she could be pulled to complete safety, the tip of a claw scratched her right arm. Gasping in both shock and pain, Alice turned from the end of the blow to see who saved her. Standing there was a dormouse. The dormouse, seeing she had Alice's attention, said, " go on ahead luv; I'll catch up to ya!" Not wanting to be caught by the Bandersnatch again, Alice heeded the dormouse's words and took off. She ran as fast as she could, and didn't even look when she heard the howl of a Bandersnatch in pain.

Finally, after what seemed forever, she collapsed under a mushroom in exhaustion. Panting hard she tried to calm her heart back down to a somewhat normal pace. She was close to succeeding, when she heard the snapping of a twig from in front of her. Heart in her throat, she looked ahead only to sag in relief when she recognized the dormouse in front of her.

The dormouse was no more than ten inches tall. Her fur was white, and she had big black eyes. She was dressed in a mauve tunic with black riding pants. She was holding her hatpin sword aloft with an eye on the end. The same eye she had plucked out of the Bandersnatch. She walked proudly down the hill with her prize.

"Well, we're safe for now. Your lucky the McTwisp passed by me when he did; he told me he was hunting for a girl. Terribly worked up he is, running all over the place searching for ya. M'name's Mallymkun, by the way." The dormouse said.

"Thank you, Mallymkun, I would have been done for without you."

"No worries, luv. What were you doing all the way out here anyway?"

" I was here to see Absolem, the rabbit was talking about taking me to see him before he passed out. Chessur was nice enough to show me the way."

"Chessur? He's never nice to anyone. What's your name?"

"My name is Alice."

"Ah, so _**you're**_ s'posed to be the Alice. Don't look like the one we need, didn't even know to get away from a Bandersnatch."

"I didn't even…"

"No time to talk, wrong Alice, we need to leave before the Bandersnatch or knights catch up. C'mon." Mally said as she grabbed Alice's right arm.

"Ahh!" Alice gasped in pain. Mallymkun, hearing Alice's exclamation of pain, looked to see what was wrong. Seeing the scratch, her eves widened.

"Oh dear, this isn't good. We better hurry before that gets worse." Mally said as she moved her hand lower to pull Alice along. She headed in the direction she knew a certain feline to most likely be. Harassing a certain poor Hatter.

Alice, not knowing what was going on, just followed behind Mallymkun. Thinking about the scratch on her arm, she wondered what was so serious about it. To her, it looked just like any other scratch she could have got. Another curiosity is the fact the scratch didn't jolt her out of this dream; if it was a dream then she should have woken up at the shock and pain. The whole walk she kept in her thoughts. She was so deep in them, she almost didn't notice when Mallymkun stopped at the top of a small hill leaving the forest.

Sitting at the bottom of the little hill was a dilapidated, old windmill. Not just any windmill, this one, in its dilapidated state, was made to resemble a hare. In front of the odd windmill sat a large table. Walking closer to it, Alice noticed it was not just one large table, but many small odd tables set together to make a longer one. Each tablecloth was a dirty white color, and had seen better days. On top of the table were cups, saucers, and teapots of all shape, sizes, and colors. Many were broken beyond repair, chipped, or in complete disuse. Some were fine, and looked like new.

Chairs were lined along both sides of the table, but only three were occupied at the moment. One of the occupants was a Hare, who was throwing things about as he pleased, and laughing all the while. He was also talking to himself, but what he said, Alice couldn't make out. He was sitting at the third chair, left side, on the end closest to her. Chessur was sitting at the end closest to the hill, with his tail flicking back and forth behind him. The third occupant sat in a green wingback chair at the head of the table. A forest green top hat with a salmon sash and hatpins was set upon a head of curly, wild orange hair. A bone white face sat underneath both. His eyes were a beautiful shade lime green, and the blue on his eyelids accented them well. His clothes were wildly colorful, and on any other person would clash something horrible. Seeming to feel someone looking at him he looked up, and met eyes with Alice who gasped. His was the most handsome and crazy looking man she had ever seen.

Seeing who was standing next to Mallymkun, his face broke out into a handsome grin that lit up his whole face. Standing up, the man said, "Alice, you're back!", in an excited tone.


	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Do not own Alice in Wonderland or any of the characters. A few pieces of dialogue came from the movie, cause they just were awesome, and of course I didn't write them only borrowing. The plot however I do own cause it came from my mind.

**A/N:** Sorry this took so long. Real life caught up to me a family member died and on top of that this chapter just did not want to come out the way I wanted it to. Please review!

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_**Chapter Five**_

Stepping up into his chair, he took off across the table; a smile still plastered to his face. Teacups and food shattered and smashed as he stepped on them without care. Chessur, seeing he was about to be run over by the man, evaporated to another chair. The poor Hare was trying, in vain, to keep everything on his table from falling over, while the mad man walked past him on the table. Reaching the end of the table, the man used Chessur's abandoned chair to step off the table as fast as he could. Mallymkun and Alice stood there staring up at him; one with a look of awe and curiosity; the other with a look of reprimand.

" Hatter! Look at what ya done! Now there are likely no scones left for me!" Mallymkun said in a disproving tone, with her paws fisted on her hips.

"Mally! I'm terribly sorry, but I just couldn't help it. Alice is back! I've been waiting for a while now for her to get back, and I thought she never was going to come. You see, Time and me got into this row, and being such a dreadful fellow that he is, I had to kill him, we all know how hard that was, but now Alice is back, and Time can come back to do his worst. Though, I don't know how he…"

"Hatter!" Mally finally shouted to Hatter to try and break him out of his ramble.

Looking over to the dormouse, Hatter replied in a choked voice, "I'm fine." Smiling a bit sheepishly, he looked at both Mally and Alice. "Well come along then, let's get some tea; there's much to discuss!" He said as he walked ahead of the two, taking the normal way this time. When they arrived at the end of the table where Hatter normally set, he picked up Alice and put her in the chair next to him, after adding some books and pillows to even out the height of the table and chairs seat. Mally walked under the table to climb up into her normal chair in the middle of the table on the right side. When they were all settled, including Chessur going back to his original seat, talk washed over the four Underlandians as they had tea. Mostly it was if Alice was truly _The _Alice, or not. Mally stood by her first thought that the girl she rescued was not _The _Alice. The Hatter adamantly disagreed with Mallymkun.

Alice could only look on, as the two argued back and forth; she had no clue what to say to end it. Looking down at her hands, she noticed the scratch on her arm out of the corner of her eye. While no one was looking she tore a piece of fabric off the bottom of her tattered dress, and tied it around her arm as she listened to the argument continue.

With her voice rising, Mally said, "But McTwisp brought us the wrong Alice! She didn't even know what to do with a Bandersnatch."

"No she's absolutely Alice! I'd know him anywhere!" Hatter replied passionately, not noticing his little pronoun mix up which cause the others to giggle, including Mallymkun. The laughter seemed to break up the argument for the moment, and everyone returned to his or her tea. The Hare and Mally were throwing Food and cups at each other and laughing at the aim and dodging techniques of the other. Chessur had disappeared sometime during the argument, and it was anyone's best guess of where he went.

Alice, feeling someone staring at her, stopped watching the food fight going on at the other end of the table, and looked in the direction of the feeling. Only to find it was the Hatter staring. Confused as to why the Hatter would be staring at her, she asked, " What is it?"

Hatter being pulled from his thoughts at the question said, " Nothing, nothing. It's just the last time you were here you were taller. Now you're here after so much time, and I had thought you would be much taller, not shorter!" He said sheepishly. A thought hit him and he just went along with it. "Of course, everything could be different in Otherland. You could very well shrink with age, not grow. But you would think the aging would go the other way too. Not that you're too old! No, it's probably you're world that's odd. Not that you're odd, because you come from there! You could never be odd! Just your world is different…"

Alice, realizing he wasn't stopping anytime soon, remembered what Mally had done when he did this earlier and shouted, "Hatter!"

Looking startled at being broke off his tangent, Hatter choked out in a high voice, "Sorry…I'm fine"

"To answer you, In Otherland as you call it, we do grow. It's just when I got here I had to drink some liquid, and it made me shrink."

"Ohh, _pishsalver._ That explains it. Well, I believe we still have some _upelkuchen_ somewhere. Mally, do we have anymore _upelkuchen_?"

"Hold on a tick. " Mallymkun said as she climbed down her chair to look for some. A few minutes later she appeared on the table with a piece of cake in her paws. Carrying it down the table to the Hatter she said, "You're in luck, we have one bite left." She handed it to the Hatter, and went back to her fun with the Hare.

Turning to back to Alice, Hatter held out the piece of cake to her. "Here you are, my dear, but only take a small bite. Wouldn't want you to grow as big as a house now would we?"

Alice took a small bite, and felt the same warm sensation as before pass through her body. Slowly she grew to her right size. Looking down, she couldn't help but to blush. Her dress grew with her, but was tattered and missing fabric in some places from the last time she grew. Luckily, everything important was still covered. Hatter, noticing her blush, quietly asked her what was wrong.

Alice looked over to the Hatter and flushed even more. Not only was she improperly dressed even to her standards, but she was also in front of a handsome man too. "My dress is barely covering me. It's hardly what I should be wearing."

"Well, I'll make you a new one. Besides, it's late and we need to head to Marmoreal tomorrow. The White Queen will be waiting anxiously for you." Hatter said happy that he could fix the situation. Standing, he led Alice to the windmill. Alice could still hear Mally and the Hare talking, laughing, and throwing thing in the background as she shut the door behind her. Away from the noise of the table, Alice noticed how tired she truly was. She barely made it to the room and bed the Hatter showed her to before collapsing. Within seconds of falling onto the mattress of the bed, she was asleep.


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Everything belongs to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, Linda Woolverton, Disney, and other parties. Some quotes are from the movie or slightly reworded; I do not own these either only borrowing for the time being. I only own a Mad Hatter poster. This is for fun, and to get an evil plot bunny out of my head.

**A/N:** Okay folks… here it is the next installment. Thanks to everybody that is reading, alerting, and favoriting! Really makes my day to see all of it, especially the reviews. And now, without further ado, on to the next chapter!

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_**Chapter Six**_

The next morning, Alice awoke to sun pouring through the window of a strange room. Sitting up disorientated, Alice looked around the room. It was sparsely decorated; only a bed, chest of drawers, closet, and a stand with an oil lamp. The room was painted the color of the midday sun with light pink trim. The furniture was some form of dark wood. She couldn't believe how well the colors went together, or how happy the room made her feel just by looking at it.

Seeing the sun through a window, she rose from the bed and headed for it. Looking out of the window, which was on the second floor, she could see more of Underland then she had before. Under the window sat the tea table. She could see the Hare, which she had learned last evening was named Thackery Earwicket, carrying a plate of scones to the table, where Mallymkun was waiting. Around the clearing that the table and windmill sat in was Tugley Woods. Looking at the dense woods in the light of a new day, and not in fear of being chased, the place was slightly different. Flowers were blooming in muted colors. Birds and insects were flying around, and animals were going about their business in the distance. Alice smiled softly at the image lay before her; feeling happy for the first time since her father died.

She still wasn't certain if she was dreaming or not. How could this be a dream if she could be hurt? Wouldn't jolt her awake? Also, everything she had come in contact with so far has seemed very familiar, like a far off memory. Frowning at this thought, she recalled what Absolem had said right before the Bandersnatch attacked. '_What did he mean, when he said that I never know who I am when I come here? Is it possible this place is real, and I have been here before? Why am I so happy to be here?'_

She was startled out of her thoughts by hearing a knock on the door. Alice spun around on her feet to look towards it. Her heart beating wildly from the fright she'd just gotten. Putting her hand up to her heart, she tried to will it to slow as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. Hearing the door open, she opened her eyes to see Hatter entering her room.

"Alice, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Hatter. You just gave me a start when you knocked. I was lost in thoughts." Alice said as she finally calmed.

"Dreadful place to get lost. You never know where you'll end up. You didn't answer when I knocked, so I thought you might still be asleep. Are you sure you are okay?"

Alice looked closely at his concerned face, and noticed a difference. His eyes were a soft yellow color, not a lime green. Confused Alice asked, "Hatter, did your eyes change color?"

"Yes, you see, err… well, my eyes change color with my moods." Hatter answered in a slightly embarrassed tone, while fidgeting with the object behind his back. Noticing this, Alice decided to change the subject, even though she thought it was kind of cute how the Hatter was embarrassed over his eyes changing color.

"Is that for me?" Alice asked, as she pointed to the bit of fabric she could see sticking out from behind Hatter.

" What? Oh, yes, yes it is." Hatter answered as he pulled out a beautiful dress, then most beautiful color of forget-me-nots. The dress was like nothing she had ever seen before. There were no sleeves on it at all. It would go down to her shins when on her, in a taffeta fabric. The bodice had two ribbons on each side draped so that they look like off the shoulder sleeves. On the top of the bodice were taffeta flowers. The bottom was slightly full, but not enough to get in her way during travel. Also in his hands were what appeared to be ballet flats made of a slightly darker fabric.

Alice was speechless. She could not believe the Hatter had made this dress for her, or that he made it for her in one night. "Hatter I can't believe this… I-it's…"

"You like it?"

"No." At this the Hatter's eyes dulled to a yellowish green, and his face fell. Alice realizing what he was thinking quickly went on to say, "I love it!"

Hearing this Hatter brightened up and said, "Well, you better get dressed. We need to head out soon in order to reach Marmoreal at a decent time. I'll have tea waiting for you.", he said as he left the room to fix the tea.

Quickly changing, Alice tore a piece off the end of the ruined underdress, and tied it around the wound on her right arm. Not noticing the redness of infection setting in.

Coming down stairs Alice had a quick cup and a scone. After finishing, Hatter and her retrieved Mally and Thackery from the tea table, and they were off, heading East to Marmoreal.

~AIW~

After walking for sometime, the group sat down for a break and light snack. Out of some mystical pocket, Hatter produced teacups and teapots from his jacket, and Thackery did the same with the scones and cakes. After a delightful rest full of laughter and riddles, they were on their way again. The only difference, being Alice walking a little slower to try to combat the lightheadedness that was beginning to plague her.

While Thackery and Mally walked ahead talking, Alice took the chance to ask Hatter something that had been stirring in her mind since yesterday. "Why was I brought to Underland? " '_If this is a real place, after all.' _Alice added silently in her mind.

Hatter looking shocked at the question answered, "To slay the Jabberwocky, of course! Don't tell me no one told you."

"Slay a what?"

"Jabberwocky; a most foul and dangerous beast. The Red Queen's pet, and champion. McTwisp should have taken you to Absolem He could have shown you the Orraculum, and explained everything so much better."

"I did see Absolem, but the Bandersnatch came before we really ever talked. Besides, even if this isn't a dream, and I'm the right Alice, I don't slay." Alice answered resolutely.

"You don't slay? Do you know what has happened here since the Red Queen has taken over?" His voice changing to a slight burr in his anger and frustration.

" I couldn't slay anything if I wanted to."

Hatter looked at Alice with a mixture of loss and hurt on his face. "You've changed. You're missing something; you used to be so much more… muchier. You've lost your muchness."

"My muchness?" Alice asked confused at the odd word. Before Hatter could explain anymore, there was a shout from ahead. Turning her head to look forward, Alice saw Mally and Thackery pointing to a castle in the distance. Looking back to each other, Hatter and Alice started walking faster to catch up to the two animals up ahead on the path.

Starting to feel more lightheaded than before, Alice slowed down from her brisk pace. Everything was beginning to spin around her; raising her hand to her forehead, she noticed she was a hotter then usual. A sudden wave of dizziness overtook her, and she felt like she was floating. Before her eyes shut completely, she saw Hatter running back to her calling out her name in distress.

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**End A/N:** Ain't I a little stinker! ^.^ Please feel free to review


	8. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Everything belongs to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, Linda Woolverton, Disney, and other parties. Some quotes are from the movie or slightly reworded; I do not own these either only borrowing for the time being. I only own a Mad Hatter poster. This is for fun, and to get an evil plot bunny out of my head.

**A/N: ** Okie dokie here we go folks. Sorry for the long wait been really sick the past week and a half. I feel better now so we're all good! The beginning kinda jumps and if it confuses people…I'm sorry. It's the only way it wanted to come out and just would not change itself at all! Hope you all like it!

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_**Chapter Seven**_

Unconsciousness is a nasty fellow to associate with. He keeps you under his spell for however long he wants. You could lie there for days without knowing anything of the world around you. Then, when Unconsciousness finally tires of playing with you and moves on, waking up is a tiresome endeavor that always leaves one disorientated and muddled. Unfortunately for Alice (or fortunately), Unconsciousness tired of her, and left her to find her way back on her own.

Fighting her way through the darkness, Alice was slowly returning to the land of the living. Around her she could feel the cool, soft fabric of bedding, completely different then where she was the last time she was conscious. From behind her eyelids she could make light being emitted from some light source, either the sun or a lamp. Slowly, she tried to open her eyes.

~AIW~

The Hatter had not left Alice's side since the Queen had allowed him back by her. His Face looked worn from lack of sleep; the bags under his eyes were a darker shade of magenta then before. His eyes, in his worry, had changed from their usually vivid lime green to the shade of dying grass. In his chair by the bed, he sat staring at Alice unseeingly, as he was lost in his thoughts and memories. His eyes slowly dulling more and more as he watched her fall over and over in his mind.

~AIW~

Opening her eyes for the first time in hours was a challenge for Alice. When she finally succeeded, everything blurred together in front of her. After a few minutes, when her eyes finally focused, she noticed she was in a mostly white room. Everything she could see was white in the dimly lit room. The only exception that she could see at the moment was the brightly colored figure of the Hatter sitting in a chair next to the bed.

Wanting to find out what happened, Alice started to sit up. Half way up, though, the room started to spin quickly. In her distress she let out a low sound. Hearing this snapped the Hatter out of his thoughts. Quickly he rushed to Alice's side to help her continue to sit up, and get comfortable. Once she was settled he pulled his chair closer, and sat back down. "Alice, you're finally awake. You're very late waking up you know; naughty!" Hatter said with a tinge of relief in his tone as his eyes shifted back to their normal lime green.

"How long have I been asleep?"

"A day and a half. We were beginning to worry."

Hearing his reply, Alice could only stare at him in shock. The last thing she remembered was following Hatter up the hill towards Mally and Thackery. Regaining her ability to speak, she had to know how she ended up wherever she was. "Oh. What happened, and where am I? The last I remember is seeing the castle in the distance."

At the question, Hatter's eyes slowly started to speck with yellow in remembrance of the events of the last day and a half. Letting out a sigh, he stared at the lighted lamp behind Alice, and began his tale.

~ A Day and a half earlier~

_Hatter pulled ahead of Alice easily with his long strides. When he was half way to Mally and Thackery, he looked over to see Alice was not beside him anymore. He turned to wait for Alice to catch up with him; what he saw when he turned, he would never forget. There stood Alice, almost as pale as him, swaying back and forth with a hand to her forehead. Her eyes rolled back into her head as she fell forward._ _Already moving, the Hatter picked up the pace as he screamed her name, only hoping to make it to her before she hit the ground. Luck was not on his side, and all he could do was watch as Alice hit the ground before him. As he finally reached her, he fell to his knees and slowly lifted her head to rest in his lap._

_Thackery and Mallymkun came running up to his side as soon as they figured out what was happening. Slowly looking over her for the cause of her fainting he noticed something amiss. On her right arm was a scrap of cloth that he did not put with the dress he made. As he tentatively removed the cloth, what he saw underneath tore him apart. On Alice's arm was one long scratch, which would be of no concern, except for the bright red color surrounding it and the infection starting to ooze out. He could feel the fever running through her body, and he was only barely touching her. Hearing a shocked gasp behind him, he turned and looked in the direction from whence it came._

_Mally stood there with both paws clasped over her mouth. Looking at the wound, she could only shake. Knowing she was in part to blame, Mally looked up to the hatter and said in trepidation, " Tarrant, we must get her to the castle, and to Chessur now."_

_Suspicion arose in his face after hearing the sentence come out of Mally's mouth. "Why do we need Chessur, Mally? Why not the royal physician? Do you, by any chance, know what caused this scratch on her arm?" His burr coming through louder with each word._

_Trying not to let the guilt show on her face, Mallymkun related the events of the day before to Tarrant. Seeing the rage slowly building in Tarrant's face Mally tried to explain that she simply forgot about it yesterday when they arrived. Hearing this, what was left of Tarrant's control snapped. His eyes turned red, and what came from his mouth would make even the most foul-mouthed person blush. _

_Mally tried to calm Tarrant down. She used all of the old tricks, and when those failed she reminded him of Alice and her condition. Hearing Alice's name snapped Tarrant back into reality, and his raving stopped. Turning his back on Mally he returned to Alice; his eyes shifting to yellow in his worry._

_Picking up Alice, he turned and started walking. Over his shoulder, he yelled for the two animals to hurry up. He looked ahead, determined to reach Marmoreal as quickly as possible._

_~AIW~_

_ Reaching the castle in Marmoreal was like a weight being lifted off of Tarrant's shoulders. He was closer to having a healed Alice, and a healed Alice was a good Alice. Everything depended on her being okay. Seeing the Queen waiting at the top of the stairs for him, Tarrant picked up the pace. _

_ The look of worry on the Queen's face was something he did not want to see at the moment. Setting Alice down on the stretcher waiting, he turned to the Queen to explain everything that he knew. After hearing most of the explanation, the Queen took off towards Alice's room with a look of fear. Stopping in front of the door she turned and told Tarrant he had to stay out for now, but she would come fetch him when he was allowed back in._

_ Tarrant spent the next few hours pacing back and forth in front of the door, waiting either for word on her condition or to be let in the room. The whole time his mind was fighting with him about things he had no control over. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the Queen came and allowed him back in. The fever running through her body was still there, but the infection had been taken care of, thanks to Chessur. _

_ It was now down to waiting for the fever to break. Sitting in the room by himself, Tarrant had time to reflect on everything that had come to pass, and hope that Alice would wake up soon. _


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey folks! Sorry it has taken so long to get this up! I've started back to college, and have been dreadfully busy… I'm also going back and fleshing out the story in some places, so if you want to have a quick reread go right ahead! I'll try not to be too long in between chapters, but with midterms next week and finals closing in I'm not for sure it will be every week. Feel free to review, they feed my little pet bunny!**

**Disclaimer:** **I own nothing. Everything belongs to Lewis Carroll, Tim Burton, Linda Woolverton, Disney, and other parties. Some quotes are from the movie or slightly reworded; I do not own these either only borrowing for the time being. The only thing I own is the idea for this plot, a copy of both movies, a copy of the book, and a Mad Hatter poster. This is for fun, and to get an evil plot bunny out of my head.**

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_**Chapter Eight**_

Tarrant had left the room in search of the Queen not long after he finished replaying the last day and a half from his perspective. Leaving Alice to reflect on the things she had learned. Having heard what had happened since she had fainted was a shock to say the least. Not only had she been in more danger than she thought from an insignificant wound, but she now owed a certain feline and a very special Hatter a huge debt. She only had to find a way to repay them for what they had done.

Noticing the sun slowly rising from through the balcony doors, she slowly rose from the bed and went to the balcony. What she saw took her breath away. The castle grounds were exceedingly more beautiful then anything she could have possibly dreamed up in her head. To her left was hedges cut and placed in an intricate design that could be made out from the height of he room. All around were flowers and cherry blossom trees. To her right she could see what looked to be the beginning of a maze. Trees lined the outer wall of the castle and the road leading up to it. None of that compared to the cliffs lining both sides of the castle. Cut into those cliffs were hundreds of waterfalls. The sun was almost raised and the beautiful pink light was setting in for a peaceful time right before everything woke for the day.

Staring out into the morning, she tried to sort out her confused thoughts. A small portion of her brain, sounding quite like her mother, was trying to tell her that this was only a dream, and she needed to wake up from this foolishness. The rest of her was saying nothing this grand could possibly be a dream. She was torn on what to believe, and with the words of her meeting with Absolem and everything else floating between her ears she was even more confused. After mulling it over for a little longer she decided to leave it be until she had the time to ask Absolem or someone else what they meant.

By the time Alice left the balcony the sun had risen fully, and was getting higher in the sky, and she could now clearly see her room for the first time in the light of the day. While mostly everything was white, she did notice hints of light blue and some black also. The beauty of everything was astounding. It truly was a place for royalty, and made her feel unworthy of such a room. She couldn't wait to meet the White Queen; she could only imagine what the royal was like if this was her home.

~AIW~

While in her musings she failed to notice the door open to allow in two important guests. Seeing Alice standing in the middle of the room lost in her thoughts, Tarrant and the White Queen entered the room. Clearing his throat, Tarrant tried to pry Alice from her thoughts. Noticing this was not working he tried her name, and when that failed he walked towards her, and lightly touched her shoulder. Jumping at the sudden touch, Alice reemerged from her thoughts to find Hatter and the most ethereal woman she had ever seen standing before her.

The woman was in an all white floor length gown. All along the bodice were little iridescent beads creating horizontally draped lines. The organza looked to have snowflakes dancing along the length of the gown and her arms. Around her neck was a choker of pearls, which were also scattered along the dress. Her snow-white hair hung around her face with gentle curls on the end. Contrasting her whole being were darkly painted lips and nails, but nothing compared to the deep brown eyes staring at her from under dark brown eyebrows. They seemed to be pleading for a friend to help her and be there for her.

"Alice, this is Her Majesty, Queen Mirana of Marmoreal." Hatter said to Alice, breaking from her assumptions. Turning to the Queen he said, "Your Majesty this is Alice."

Smiling Mirana replied, "It's nice to finally see you again, Alice. It's been too long, my friend."

Alice, slightly puzzled by this said, " But we've just met. How could it be too long, Your Majesty?"

Mirana's face fell at this. Turning to Tarrant she looked hopeless. "She doesn't remember does she, Tarrant?"

"No, nothing at all." His eyes dimming at those words falling from his lips.

"Why does everyone keep asking if I remember anything? I mean, if this is al just a dream then what would it matter?" She could see the pain emanating from the White Queen, but could not understand why. As far as she knew, they had never met before.

Mirana still looking at Tarrant asked quietly, " Hatter, would you mind if I spoke to Alice alone?"

"Not at all My Queen, just let me know when you are finished." Tarrant said, as he left the room, with a worried look on his face.

Slowly, Mirana walked over to the chair Tarrant had vacated earlier and sat down with a weary look on her face. Alice approached the bed, and sat down facing Mirana. "Your Majesty? Are you alright?" Alice said gently.

Mirana looked up and smiled weakly. "Mirana, just Mirana, Alice. You may not remember, but many years ago we were very good friends."

"Mirana, I've not been here before. I think I would remember it."

"Alice, you may not remember this place, but it remembers you. You have been here before, and it's not a dream. Does anything seem familiar to you?"

"Well Hatter seems vaguely familiar, and so does Absolem. It's like I've had this dream before."

"You still believe this is a dream do?"

"Well, yes, this is just…"

"A Wonderland?"

When Mirana said this, it clicked somewhere in Alice's mind. All of her past visits flew past her minds eye. She saw tea parties, a house of mirrors, playing croquet with a woman in red, talking with Mirana, and many memories containing the Hatter. She couldn't believe that her dream was actually real, and that she was here again. She was so wrapped up in her memories she didn't even notice the tear that fell from her eye, nor Mirana rushing to side, calling her name.

"Alice? Alice, can you hear me? Snap out of it, Alice!"

Looking at the Queen and her long lost friend, she barely could find her words. "I remember, I remember everything."

Hearing Alice's whisper, she let out a sigh of relief. "Its good to have you back Alice. I know you are overwhelmed, is there anything you need?"

"Just give me a moment. I need to sort everything out. I do have one question though, where's Iracebeth? What's happened to her?"

The smile fell away from Mirana, as she heard the name of her sister pass from Alice's mouth. "That is the reason we had to bring you back, Alice. Racie has gone mad. She isn't like she once was. She is cruel and vicious. Most importantly, she stole the crown from me, and is now ruling over Underland. She even has the Jabberwocky as her champion, how I don't know, but she does."

In shock over hearing the plight of her old childhood friend, she solemnly looked over to the Queen. "Mirana, what's happened since I was last here? I need you to tell me everything that's happened since I left?"


End file.
